328 W. WESCHE ON MALE ROTIFERS. 



be traced on the surface. The body is globose, with a tough 

 skin, which it requires some imagination to describe as a lorica. 

 There is a fold of skin on the dorsum. Strictly speaking the foot 

 is absent, but its place is occupied by the penis. The cilia are 

 very long and filiform. The brain is exceedingly large, and 

 comes down in an elongated mass from the front. At its lower 

 extremity a very laige reddish-black granular mass seems to 

 concentrate into a dark red eye on the ventral side. Four 

 powerful muscles are attached to the brain and cilia. The antennae 

 are as in the female. There are some minute glands below the 

 orifice of the penis on the ventral side. A curious circular gland, 

 connected with the brain by a long muscle, may have some relation 

 to the contractile vesicle. The penis, which is rather long, is 

 ciliated and kept retracted. On pressure being applied it was 

 protruded through an opening which corresponds with the orifice 

 of the foot in the female. I was able to see the spermatozoa 

 individually in the spermatheca. 

 Size^i^" = 127 /x. 



Habitat, pond at Neasden, March 29th, 1902. 

 I will now give a description of the mastaxed male, which also 

 came out of this very prolific pond. The general shape is 

 fusiform. The animals seen were singularly hyaline, and both 

 Mr. Marks, who had two individuals under observation, and 

 myself had the greatest difficulty in making out detail. As 1 

 said before the whole type is that of a Notommata. The con- 

 striction of the integument which defines the head was decided. 

 The body is annulated — four constrictions were noted. 



The foot is long, without annulations. The toes are much 

 the same shape as in N. naias ; the toe glands, the ends towards 

 the front, when viewed laterally, appear bluntly pointed. The 

 cilia are long and tine. The brain is very large, white, and 

 opaque. 



There is no eye. The antennae were not made out. The 

 mastax is fairly large and well forward under the brain. Owing 

 to the very muscular and dense structure, the details of the trophi 



